You're in High School, Charlie Brown!
by Moonlady
Summary: Yes, it's no doubt been done to death. But who DOESN'T like a Peanuts in High School fic? Charlie Brown/Little Red-Headed Girl Because I like it.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** So... yeah. I've been cast in the play "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" recently. So that's taking up some of my time. And it's been making me think an awful lot about Charlie Brown. So... this fanfic is the result.  
Normally I wouldn't do a High School AU fic for anything... But this is just natural progression for these characters. So it's not stupid to have them in High School.  
Also, this is a Charlie Brown/Little Red-Headed Girl fanfic. I call her Heather because one of the cartoons said her name was Heather. Though I don't take most of my canon from them, I take this because it's easy.

Disclaimer: I miss Charles Schultz. This fanfic will probably not do him justice.

You're in High School, Charlie Brown!

* * *

**Prologue** (The past)...

Charlie Brown suppressed a sigh at the end of the lunch period. He sat there for a moment to watch the Little Red-headed Girl pick up her things. She picked up her lunchbox and chatted with someone he didn't know as they went into the building. Charlie Brown sighed again. Lucy came up behind him and followed his line of sight.

"You're hopeless, Charlie Brown." Lucy said, rolling her eyes. Charlie Brown jumped and looked over his shoulder at her.

"What?" He asked.

"It's absolutely pathetic the way you pine after her." Lucy went on. "She never even looks at you."

"She has before..." Charlie Brown argued.

"And how did you react?" Lucy asked.

Charlie Brown blushed and sighed again. He distinctly remembered the various times the Little Red-headed Girl had turned her head in his direction. Putting bags over his head and ducking under benches in an effort to not be seen.

"See what I mean? Pathetic. You've never even said one word to her. What makes you think she'd ever like you?" Lucy pointed out before leaving.

Charlie Brown just sat there for a moment before standing up and putting the remains of his lunch in a nearby trashcan.

"I don't think it's hopeless." He said to himself. "Maybe one day I'll be able to sit next to her and tell her..." He mused. He started to smile as an idea came to him.

"Or maybe one day she'll come over and sit right next to ME!" He said excitedly. "And she'll ask to have lunch with me and say how she's always admired me!" He clasped his hands as he thought about it. The smile slowly faded off his face.

"No... No one's ever admired me." Charlie Brown said dejectedly. He sighed and trudged back inside as the bell rang.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Chapter twoooo! Or one depending on how you count.

* * *

**Fast Forward Six Years...**

High School, Charlie Brown noted, wasn't too bad so far. He and his friends were all still together for the most part. With the exception of Linus, who was in all the gifted classes because he'd skipped two grades. And Sally, who was still in Middle School.

Charlie Brown had tried out for every sports team he could think of, and been turned down for every one. He wasn't surprised, but it was just a little bit of a disappointment. His father said to not put too much stock in being on a team. His father was a scrawny man who'd never gotten onto any teams when he was in school either, and he was doing alright.

But still, Charlie Brown _liked_ sports, even if he couldn't play them. He volunteered to help out the teams in any way that he could whenever the seasons started. Water Boy wasn't the most glamorous title, but it wasn't miserable either. He'd gotten to know everyone on the teams already and they all seemed to like him. At least... when they noticed him. He was getting good at answering questions and always having the right supplies on hand. The coaches all really liked him too, they thought he was the most efficient helper they'd ever had. They all insisted that maybe next year, after he'd gotten used to his new reach, he'd probably be a good pick for SOME team.

Charlie Brown had shot up like a rocket through middle school. His mother went on about it quite a lot, insisting he'd inherited his father's genes. He was now nearly 6" tall, and at 14 that was nothing to sneeze at because he still had a few years growth in him. He'd yet to quite get past the 'awkward' phase and was continually clumsy because of it, but even despite all that he was still pretty invisible. Unless he knocked over something particularly loud anyway.

An odd side effect of High School was that it'd brought everyone who'd gone to the same elementary schools a little closer. When all of the school consolidated for the higher grades it'd made everyone nervous. They tended to cling to familiar faces since they'd all been somewhat spread out among the different classes. This had had a few effects that filled Charlie Brown with joy and dread.

One effect of this, was that Peppermint Patty now went to school with them. In the manner of opposites attract, she was already a shoe in for every single girl's sports team the school had to offer. And yet she was still surreptitiously pining away for him, to which he was completely oblivious. But yet another effect... Heather, also known as the Cute Little Red-headed girl, was now quite good friends with Lucy and Frieda. This development had given Charlie a minor heart attack when it was first revealed.

Charlie Brown hadn't quite gotten over the first time Heather had sat with them at lunch. She'd just sat down like it wasn't a monumental moment in his life. Like this wasn't the best thing that had ever happened to him. She'd casually said hi to him, confirming that she DID know his name, and proceeded to chat with Lucy the entire time.

She didn't sit with them very often. She was in a lot of clubs and such, so she was usually occupied during lunch. But every once in a while she did. Sometimes, just sometimes, she'd sit right next to him.

So far he hadn't been able to say one word to her, even when directly addressed. Lucy probably thought that was the most hilarious thing ever. But if she did, she never said.

* * *

**Author's Note:** How was that?


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie Brown sat down at, what had become, his usual table and examined his tray of food.

"Charlie Brown! Charlie Brown! Hi!" Linus scurried across the floor, which was quickly becoming very crowded. Linus landed in the seat across from him, looking really excited.

"I was able to get my schedule switched around, so I'm in this lunch period now." Linus explained, beaming across the table at him.

"I thought that you couldn't do that after the first two weeks of school?" Charlie Brown asked.

"Well, they wanted to put me in a higher English class anyway, so it was easy to switch a couple of other things around." Linus explained. "You're in Mr. Harrison's 7th period study hall right?" He asked. Charlie Brown just nodded.

Linus was a gifted student and had skipped both 4th and 7th grade. He was kind of runty looking compared to the regular students and wore glasses now, and he'd finally managed to ditch his blanket. Charlie Brown knew for a fact that he still slept with it under his pillow, but was sworn to secrecy.

Charlie Brown had the sneaking suspicion that being seen hanging out with Linus would put a dent in his reputation. But he and Linus had been friends ever since he could remember, so he wasn't about to throw him over now. Especially for some as unattainable as being 'cool'.

"Augh. My little brother's here. Why are you here Linus, I thought you were in an earlier lunch period?" Lucy asked. Charlie twisted in his seat to get a look at Lucy and turned back around quickly. Heather and Frieda were with her. He blushed and stared at his lunch tray.

The girls sat down, Heather right next to him.

"Hi Charlie Brown." Heather greeted. Lucy leaned over the table and slid Charlie Brown's lunch tray across the table.

"Aww, what is this? Salisbury steak? You know they have pizza, right?" Lucy complained. She started eating it anyway. Frieda picked the vegetables off the tray as she say on the other side of the table.

There was a silence at the table as Lucy and Frieda ate Charlie Brown's lunch. Charlie Brown never moved his eyes off the table where his tray had been.

"They took your lunch Charlie Brown." Linus pointed out. Charlie Brown looked up at Linus, then down at the table again, where he let his eyes skirt over towards Heather. They never got any further than her hands before he gave out and went back to looking at the table in front of him.

Normally in a situation like this he'd bury his nose in a book and feign interest in getting his homework done before his next class. But it was still too early in the year for that to be an effective excuse.

Heather eventually slid over closer to Lucy and started chatting with her. Charlie Brown relaxed a little and dared just a small glance at her before taking a deep breath and turning his attention to Linus.

"Want half my sandwich?" Linus asked. Noting again that Lucy had taken Charlie Brown's lunch.

"Umm..." He watched as Linus removed a small kit from his backpack. From this he took out a pack of sanitary wipes and wiped down his hands before then constructing a sandwich on a napkin he'd placed on the table. This little production drew the attention of everyone at the table.

"What?" Linus asked. "It's got tomatoes. It'd get soggy if you put it together before school!" He justified. Charlie Brown just nodded.

"Hey, where's Schroeder?" Lucy asked, leaning back a little to get Charlie Brown's attention without Heather directly in between them as a distraction.

"Not sure. If he's not here then he probably has something going on in the band room." Charlie Brown answered.

"What?!" Lucy shouted. "Well that's just unacceptable!" Lucy got up and stomped off.

"Lucy! Where are you going?" Linus called after her.

"To the band room!" She shouted across the cafeteria before she left.

There was a silent pause as everyone absorbed that.

"So, Charlie Brown..." Heather started. Charlie Brown tensed and the blush that had been subsiding came back full force. He stared intently at the surface of the table, like the carvings on it were some interesting puzzle. He glanced up at her quickly and then back to the table to let her know he was paying attention. It was the best he could manage.

"I was wondering-" Heather started.

"Heather!" A girl called out. Everyone looked up and saw a brown-haired girl coming towards the table. "Heather! C'mon, Mr. Matthews says he's got a project for the art club to get started on and he wants everyone to know."

"It can't wait until after school?" Heather asked.

"Don't you have something going on for French Club after school?" The girl asked.

"Umm..." Heather looked back at Charlie Brown, who appeared to be steadfastly ignoring her. She sighed.

"Yeah. Okay." Heather agreed. She picked up her backpack. "I'll see you later Frieda." She said before following the girl out of the room.

Charlie Brown looked up to watch her go. Linus and Frieda locked eyes for just a moment to share an eye-roll. Linus and Frieda only knew each other nominally through Lucy, but Charlie Brown's patheticness was universally understood.


	4. Chapter 4

Heather tapped her pencil on her notebook pensively as she pondered over something that had absolutely nothing to do with the homework she was attempting to work on. She glanced over at Lucy, who was doodling away in her notebook. They were in the same last period study hall.

"Lucy..." Heather started, getting Lucy's attention.

"Hmm?" Lucy asked, not looking up from her notebook.

"Does Charlie Brown just not like me or something?" Heather asked. Lucy spasmed and broke her pencil in response to this question.

"What..." Lucy had to bite her lip for a moment to get a hold of herself. "What makes you ask?" She finally got out.

"Well... he never talks to me. And I don't think he's ever once looked at me for more than a nanosecond at a time." Heather explained.

"That's Charlie Brown for you." Lucy said, repressing a snicker.

"But it isn't." Heather insisted. "I..." She paused and turned a little pink. "I watch him sometimes, when he doesn't know I'm there." She confessed.

Lucy sat up straight and looked at Heather. She couldn't believe her ears. Heather hadn't actually said that, had she?

"You... watch him?" Lucy asked. Heather blushed outright then and buried her head in her arms.

"Oh my gosh just forget I said anything!" She whispered frantically.

"Heather, you don't..." Lucy whined. If Heather actually liked Charlie Brown and he found out about it then she'd never hear the end of it, she just knew it.

"I don't wanna talk about it anymore." Heather complained.

"How about after school?" Lucy asked. "You can come over to my house."

Heather sat up and sighed.

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Heather asked.

"Yes." Lucy answered.

"Alright... after school." Heather agreed.

[Break]

"You only wanna play a fighting game because you know I'll lose." Charlie Brown complained.

"You lose at everything we play. What difference does it make?" Linus asked with a laugh.

"Shut up." Charlie Brown shot back.

Lucy started and then glared as she realized that Linus and Charlie Brown were in the living room and setting up the gaming console. Heather walked in behind her, her hands worrying the strap of her backpack that was over her shoulder.

"Oh my GOD, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked. Linus and Charlie Brown looked up from what they were doing. Charlie Brown's eyes widened and he tensed up.

"I live here?" Linus answered, sounding a bit unsure of himself.

"Not you! Oh... nevermind. Lets go up to my room Heather." Lucy got behind Heather and nudged her towards the stairs. Heather waved at them and then headed up the stairs.

Linus turned and looked at Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown blinked a couple of times and started fiddling with the TV again.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Linus asked casually.

"I'm not gonna think about it." Charlie Brown insisted.

"You're no fun." Linus said.

Upstairs Lucy led Heather to her room and cleared the junk off of her bed.

"Here we are." Lucy picked up some of the clothes and started putting them back in her closet. Heather put her backpack on the floor and sat down on the bed. She looked around the room.

Lucy's room was painted a light blue and the walls were decked out in posters of pianos and Beethoven and pages of music.

"I knew you played the piano, but I didn't think you were that interested in it." Heather said. There was even a piano shaped music box on her vanity.

"I'm not." Lucy said without clarification. She sat down on the bed next to Heather. "So..."

"Is it safe to talk about it with him downstairs?" Heather asked.

"They'll be into the game in no time. Plus they know I'll pulverize them if they even DARED to eavesdrop." Lucy assured her. "Now, tell me all about it."

"I dunno..." Heather said.

"Alright, I'll get it started. Why don't we pick up from where we left off. You asked if I thought Charlie Brown just doesn't like you, I said that was just the way he is, you protested and said that you watch him..." Lucy rambled.

"Okay okay okay!" Heather shouted. Lucy was quiet for a moment.

"So, how long have you been stalking Charlie Brown?" Lucy asked.

"It's not stalking!" Heather protested. "I just wanted to know more about him. And he never talks to me so I didn't know how else to do it." She explained.

"You could've just asked me. I know just about everything there is to know about Charlie Brown. I've been living next door to him since forever." Lucy said.

"Yeah but..." Heather hesitated.

"Then I'd know that you wanted to know more about him." Lucy finished.

"Yeah." Heather agreed.

Lucy mused on this for a bit. She could tell what wasn't being said, but she didn't know what to make of it. How on earth could someone like Heather have a crush on Charlie Brown? Heather was a little shy, but Lucy was almost certain that she could have her pick of the guys if she wanted, what could possible draw her to a nobody like Charlie Brown?

"I can't believe you've got a crush on Charlie Brown." Lucy said, full of disbelief.

"Do you think he knows?" Heather asked, suddenly worried. "Is that why he doesn't look at me, because it'd be awkward?"

Lucy fell back onto the bed and started laughing like mad.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy's cackle drifted down the stairs. The boys looked up from the game for just a moment. Linus looked casually over at Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown was frowning a bit.

"Think Heather just told a really good joke?" Linus asked.

"I'm not going to think about it." Charlie Brown said suddenly. He glared at the TV screen. He didn't care very much, but her knew if he thought too much on what was going on upstairs he wouldn't have the cognitive ability to punch the buttons on the controller.

The game continued for a while longer before more sounds from upstairs interrupted them.

"2ND GRADE?!" Heather yelled.

Charlie Brown dropped his controller and buried his head in his hands.

"Please tell me I didn't hear that?" Charlie Brown mumbled after a minute.

"Umm..." Linus wasn't sure what to say. There were probably a thousand different things that Heather and his sister could be discussing, even in regards to what they'd heard... But he knew exactly what was on Charlie Brown's mind. To be honest it seemed incredibly likely too.

Charlie Brown sighed and unburied his face. He picked up the controller again.

"I'm not going to think about it." He said with conviction.

"Do you think that-?" Linus started.

"Lucy and Heather have been friends for a while now. There's no reason for her to have told her that right at this very instant." Charlie Brown reasoned. "She could've told Heather that I liked her just as soon as they got to know each other for all I know. There wasn't any reason for her to keep it a secret." He pointed out.

"You didn't ask her to?" Linus asked.

"No." Charlie Brown answered. "But that probably wouldn't have stopped her even if I had."

Linus acknowledged that with a sort of hum. He found it perplexing that Charlie Brown acted as though his feelings were a deep dark secret, even seeming to dread Heather finding out, but didn't expect anyone else to keep it a secret for him. He didn't know what that meant.

"So..." Linus said in a musing tone of voice "What if she just now told her right this instant? I mean... if she could have told her at any time then isn't now just as good as any other time?" Linus asked.

Charlie Brown stared blankly at the screen in front of him.

"I'm not gonna think about it." He repeated.

They played the game until they got bored, which didn't take very long. Linus got bored quickly because Charlie Brown was so easy to beat, and Charlie Brown got bored because after a while it just wasn't any fun to lose time and time again. That took maybe an hour. So they decided to actually get started their homework instead.

Linus and Charlie Brown were sitting at the dining room table, perusing their math problems, when Lucy and Heather made an appearance. They looked up briefly from their respective textbooks as the two came tromping down the stairs.

Heather was carrying her backpack again, indicating that she was soon to depart, and Lucy wandered into the kitchen to get something to drink from the fridge. She spotted Linus and Charlie Brown and something seemed to dawn on her.

"Homework. I almost forgot. Hey Heather, wanna stay and collaborate on our English homework?" Lucy asked.

"Umm..." Heather hesitated. She was looking at Charlie Brown and blushing rather brightly. Charlie Brown, who had spotted her and had intended to glance her way just briefly like always, had locked eyes with her for the first time anyone could remember. His heart was so entirely filled with dread over her reaction to the news he was sure Lucy had given her, that it hadn't occurred to him to look away.

"Uhh... No thanks Lucy." Heather finally managed after a moment. "I should really be getting home." She said uncomfortably. She glanced between Lucy and Charlie Brown several times during this exchange. Fidgeting more and more every time she looked at Charlie Brown. She bid a hasty farewell and practically bolted out the front door.

Charlie Brown slumped in his chair and put his pencil down. He'd never seen Heather react that way before. It was just a bad as he thought. After all this time she finally knew how he felt... and she was so embarrassed and disgusted that she couldn't even look at him.

Charlie Brown knew that he shouldn't be surprised. But it still hurt.


End file.
